NCJ Number
210176
Journal
Law Enforcement Technology Volume: 32 Issue: 5 Dated: May 2005 Pages: 116,118,121
Date Published
May 2005
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This article explains how a thermal imager functions; the capabilities and limitations of its technology; and how law enforcement officers can legally, ethically, and effectively use thermal imagers in patrol, investigation, and enforcement operations.
Abstract
A thermal imager detects relative differences in surface temperature, and these differences are converted into an electronic signal and shown as a visual image on a display for the user to observe. Modern thermal imagers can detect even small differences in surface temperature. The Law Enforcement Thermographers' Association has recognized 12 uses for thermal imaging in law enforcement: search and rescue operations, environmental investigations, officer safety, fugitive searches, disturbed surface investigations, structure profiles, marine and ground surveillance, perimeter surveillance, accident/collision investigation, vehicle profiles, and hidden compartments. Before LETA recognizes an application for thermal imaging, the technology must first be successfully used in that manner, and it must then survive a court challenge regarding the appropriateness of the use of thermal imaging in a given context. The aforementioned uses of thermal imaging are approved uses for land-based thermal imagers. Handheld and vehicle-mounted thermal imagers are similar in their base construction and function. One of the most common options on thermal imagers allows for recording and remote viewing of the video signal. Some models have video output connections, and others have wireless transmitters that use radio frequency or microwave signals.